'Statues Commemorating the Integration of Taekwondo Kwans and Bust of Kukkiwon’s Founding President, Kim Un-Yong Unveiled at Kukkiwon

June 16 (Thu) 10:30 AM, Ceremony Held at Kukkiwon…Appreciation Plaque Given to Park Dong-Sook, Widow of Kim Un-yong

 

The unveiling ceremony of the statues commemorating the integration of Taekwondo kwans and bust of Kukkiwon’s founding president, Kim Un-yong was held at Kukkiwon.

 

At the ceremony held in 10:30AM on June 16 (Thu) at Kukkiwon, 500 prominent figures from various circles, including Choue Chung-won, the President of the World Taekwondo Federation, Lee Kyu-seok, the President of the Asian Taekwondo Association, Kim Se-hyuk, the Vice Chairman of the Korea Taekwondo Association, Lee Jong-gap, Secretary-General of the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation, many elder leaders in the Taekwondo community, heads of city and provincial Taekwondo associations and unions under the Korea Taekwondo Association, former and current employees of Kukkiwon, members of the Elder Council, members of the Technical Committee and national assembly member Yoon Sang-hyun gathered.

 

Part 1 of the ceremony held in the main building included a welcome speech, congratulatory speeches, commemorative speech, commemorative video and a congratulatory demonstration by the World Taekwondo Demonstration Team.

 

Kukkiwon Chairman of the Board, Jeon Gap-gil said in his congratulatory speech, “Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Kukkiwon, we have organized this ceremony to remind ourselves the history and meaning of the integration of kwans and to honor the late Dr. Un-Yong Kim, the founding president of Kukkiwon. Someone once said, a nation that forgets its past has no future. Kukkiwon will never forget the ones who have sacrificed themselves for Taekwondo and prepare for a brighter future” said Kukkiwon Chairman of the Board, Jeon Gap-gil in his congratulatory speech.

 

“I want to congratulate everyone on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Kukkiwon and I believe without the late Dr. Un-Yong Kim and integration of kwans, Taekwondo would not have earned its international reputation and prestige as a truly global sport. With Taekwondo, we should all unite and try to contribute to world peace” said Choue Chung-won, the President of the World Taekwondo Federation, in his congratulatory speech.

 

“Thanks to the integration of kwans in 1978, Kukkiwon has earned its reputation as the World Taekwondo Headquarters. I sincerely hope Kukkiwon never forgets the past 50 years, constantly looks ahead to a bright future and makes the next 50 years a constructive and meaningful journey” said Kim Se-hyuk, the Vice Chairman of the Korea Taekwondo Association, in his congratulatory speech on behalf of Chairman Yang Jin-bang.

 

“We will always remind ourselves of the forward-looking attitude and spirit of the late Dr. Un-Yong Kim who successfully led Kukkiwon as the central dojang starting in 1972 and who dedicated his life to building the sport into one that is loved by people all around the world. Also, we will not forget the hard work of and sacrifices that had to be made by our elder leaders of the Taekwondo community for the integration of Taekwondo kwans. We will continuously innovate, grow strong and reach higher together” said Kukkiwon President Lee Dong-sup in his commemorative speech.

 

Then a special video about the history of the integration of Taekwondo kwans and the work of the late Dr. Un-Yong Kim was shown and the World Taekwondo Demonstration Team astonished the audience with a high-level demonstration for about 30 minutes.

 

After the demonstration, the attendees moved to the south gate of the main building for a ribbon-cutting ceremony commemorating the integration of Taekwondo kwans.

 

The statues commemorating the integration of Taekwondo kwans which had been under construction since last November with the contribution made by TYK Group President Kim Tae-yeon are entitled, “Telling the History of Taekwondo” and the central theme of the work is the Taekwondo belt.

 

The serial numbers of the kwans at the time they were first integrated in 1978 (Kwan 1: Songmukwan, Kwan 2: Hanmukwan, Kwan 3: Changmukwan, Kwan 4: Mudeokkwan, Kwan 5: Odokwan, Kwan 6: Kangdeokwon, Kwan 7: Jeongdokwan, Kwan 8: Jidokwan, Kwan 9: Cheongdokwan), their mottos and emblems were engraved on the statues.

 

The integration of Taekwondo kwans, the worldwide spreading of the sport and Kukkiwon which has been built combining the 9 kwans were symbolizes through the statues.

 

Then, the unveiling ceremony of the bust of Kukkiwon’s founding president, Kim Un-yong was held to commemorate his work and dedication.

 

Before the unveiling ceremony, Kukkiwon President Lee Dong-sup presented an appreciation plaque to Park Dong-Sook, widow of Dr. Kim Un-yong for her sacrifices and support.

 

For this special ceremony, three statues commemorating △The 1st World Taekwondo Championships (May 25 ― 27, 1973) and the Establishment of the World Taekwondo Federation (May 28, 1973), △Selection of Taekwondo As a Demonstration Sport at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Official Adoption of Taekwondo at 1986 Seoul Asian Games and at the 1987 Pan American Games (June 6, 1985) and △The 1st Anniversary of the Official Adoption of Taekwondo at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games (September 4, 1995) were installed next to the bust of the late Dr. Kim Un-yong.

 

The statues and the bust will be a meaningful part of Kukkiwon’s historical space that promotes the history of the integration of Taekwondo kwans and the work of the late Dr. Kim Un-yong to the members of the Taekwondo community and visitors from all around the world.